December 15, 2014

The Russian Ruble Is Now Entering Free Fall

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Speaking of a possible economic crisis in Russia, it looks like the ruble is now entering free fall:

For months, Russia’s ruble has been falling in line with a decline in oil. But now, the selloff has stepped up a gear amid a broad rout in emerging-market currencies. Monday, the dollar shot above 63 against the battered Russian currency….“There’s no relief in sight, the mood on the market is pessimistic. Any recovery in the ruble is used to buy into foreign currencies,” said Igor Akinshin, a trader at Alfa Bank.

….The country’s bond markets are also under strain. Russia’s dollar bond maturing in Sept. 2023 is yielding 7.102%, up from 6.633% on Friday.

It’s above my pay grade to speculate on how this ends. But it’s worth keeping an eye on.

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